Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America Essay
CASE NAMETaran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin AmericaCentral IssueHow can I Taran Swan come up with a strategy to remotely manage my leadership responsibilities from New York (via email, telephone and conference calls) in order to ensure that the productivity and growth of Nickelodeon is not affected?Recommended Course of ActionTaran Swan should maintain a clear communication routine with her team in Miami:Engage in the top web-based collaboration tools such as video conferencing, virtual meeting sessions and constant wi-fi networks through email and blackberry.Those employees who know her the longest and the best should train all new hires who are not aware of Taran’s leadership style.Structure work assignments and deadlines to minimize communication errorsTaran should receive weekly progress reports in the form of workflow maps.Taran should also engage in providing constant feedback about employee performance so that communication stays positive.
Basis for RecommendationThe recommended course of action stands out more than the reasonable alternatives as majority of the employees at Nickelodeon are aware and used to working with Taran being afar. They also look up to her and appreciate her work a lot to see her go away OR have someone else come in and take her position. For the few people who are new to the company or not aware of her management style can always be trained/assisted by existing employees. By setting up a communication routine, Taran will be able to monitor performance from New York and send feedback across in areas that need work. With the use of updated technology, the element of distance can be eliminated while still maintaining a personal touch on a one-to-one basis.
Reasonable Alternatives1. Temporarily replace Taran’s position with a new hire.2. Create a training budget to train the Miami team in dividing and taking up full responsibility of Taran’s role.3. Create a gatekeepers role (besides Schwarz) who constantly travels between New York and Miami to report for Taran.4. Taran should resign from her position.
5. Do nothingSignificant FactorsPersonal situation (medical)Corporate culture of versatility, opportunity and adaptabilityPossible compromise on profit marginsFear of under-performanceInformation technologyPersonal situation (medical):Although the company was sensitive to Taran’s medical situation the stakeholders were worried that her move might distant the employees from their targets as she was the driving force behind their performance and also the initiator of the business plan and so knew best what and how much needs to be achieved.Corporate culture of versatility, opportunity and adaptability:Nickelodeon successfully evolved from setting up in the US markets to the Latin American markets with a great platform and openness to new ideas because Taran gave the different managers sufficient authority and responsibility to get the job done in their own creative ways.
She encouraged professional growth within the company.Possible compromise on profit margins:The fact that Taran will be away for long-term or that someone not as competent might have to take over her role could monetarily cost Nickelodeon significantly.Fear of under-performance:The stakeholders of Viacom were worried that expanding the business into a new area (Latin America) that had not been tested was making way for possible losses/failure which would not only tarnish Nickelodeon’s reputation, but also lead to a loss of their invested capital and that’s why they initiated budget cuts.Information Technology:The high investment of Nickelodeon into programming and on-air technologies made the Viacom stakeholders anxious, as they were worried that the company would be compromising its business by focusing more on new markets that were although becoming successful, it still did not guarantee continued profits.
