Please find the problem attached along with the case study in the following 2 images.
CASE 14.1 Popular Foods Ltd. (PFL) Popular Foods is a company which makes staple branded food products like wheat flour, suji and maida flour and also ready-to eat foods, all under the brand name, Popular. Popular is very strong in one region of the country. It is a family-owned company but strongly believes in professional management. However, it still clings on to traditional methods of management as the top management feels these methods have been time tested and proven. PFL. has its headquarter in one of the secondary towns and not in a metro or a major city. It also has one of its three plants in this location. The other two plants are also located in the region where PFL is strong. PFL has a good network of dealers in the region and many of these dealers have been with the company for many years and support the products of the company with a good distribution effort in the marketplace. PFL is run by a CEO and a COO. It has general managers (GMs) heading production, marketing, finance, supply chain, IT, purchase, and R&D. Some of these GMs are MBAs also. PFL. does not pay high salaries as compared to the industry but is able to so far retain its people because the top management is quite benevolent and treats its people well. In recent times, a number of local big players and even MNCs are entering the industry and offering astronomical salaries to good people. In particular, sales and marketing people of PFL are very well recognizedin the industry as an excellent resource for strengthening and keeping a high distribution presence for the products entrusted to them. One of the major competitors of PFL with an all India presence, was also rapidly expanding its sales and marketing network and started looking for good sales and marketing people in the industry. Obviously PFL was the first place they started looking at. Recently, this major competitor (let us call him KLM) took away the GM-Marketing of PFL with a difficult to refuse package. Once the earlier GM-Marketing of PFL joined KLM, he started the process of "poaching" good salespeople from PFL to build his sales team. PFL quickly promoted a veteran sales manager, with a lot of experience and good performance to his credit, as the GM-Marketing for PFL. PFL has a serious dilemma on its hands: . It is losing all its good sales and marketing people to KLM, which is offering huge salary packages which PFL cannot match. PFL does not seem to have enough attractions to hold back these people. Even though PFL allows its people at Head Office to commute from one or two major cities nearby ( for education and medical facilities, the managers have to keep their families in these cities), the location of PFL does not attract the top talent in the industry. PFL cannot easily recruit new, experienced salespeople from the outside as many of its competitors have increased the salary levels, which again, PFL cannot match. PFL is worried that it may be left with salespeople who do not have a ready market in the industry. Meanwhile, the business has to go on. PFI has also got to demonstrate to its 500 odd dealers in the region that it is still a market leader and can take care of its manpower issues effectively. The industry is also watching the moves which PFL makes. Discussion Questions If you are the new GM-Marketing of PFL, what action: 1. Will you take as the GM-Marketing to protect and build your valuable team? 2. Will you recommend to the top management to ensure that attrition levels are always kept at a manageable level? 3. Will you take to keep your dealers highly motivated and performing in spite of changes in sales management
