Scenario ChiChi Premium Dog Food Co. is experiencing a decline in sales. There has been a downward revenue trend since 2017. Increased competition and online sales are thought to be the cause of this decline. The CEO announced last week that there will be an organizational restructure in hopes of turning the company around and avoiding layoffs. You were just informed that you will be promoted to Client Services Director. This position is a new position for the company, as is the department that you will be managing. After researching the competition and considering what motivates clients to shop online, upper management determined that developing a department dedicated to client services would be a strategic move. You have a few challenges to address. You have to develop a mission and scope for the new department based on the purpose provided to you by upper management. You will also have to effectively manage this newly formed team. As a first step, you have been tasked with developing a leadership plan outlining the proposed mission and scope of the department, as well as your approach for leading the team. You will need to justify your decisions and explain your reasoning. This newly formed team includes six staff members, including yourself. All of these staff members came from various existing departments. Additionally, they were not provided an option for moving into the new Client Services Department. Upper management determined that given the industry trends affecting revenue and growth, some departments were either obsolete or in need of a reduction in personnel. Many full-time staff members experienced increasingly light workloads in recent years. This put the company at an economic disadvantage, but upper management did not want to lay off employees. As a result of the restructuring, each staff member will assume full time responsibilities again. The previously existing departments will have fewer staff members but maintain the same responsibilities. The staff members shifting to the new Client Services Department will have full time responsibilities assigned from the start. The staff members moved to your department came from departments that had extraordinarily little structure, few defined tasks, and minimal oversight. These qualities in addition to the fact that they had lighter than usual job responsibilities, will be some of the attributes to keep in mind as you begin leading this team. Specifically, you must address the following: Plan: Develop a leadership plan that outlines the proposed mission and scope of the department, as well as your approach for leading the team. Include how to effectively lead a team that combines staff from various departments into a new one. You will need to justify your decisions and explain your reasoning. Theories: Upper management asked for specific recommendations for how you will lead your new team, and reasoning behind these recommendations. To provide substantial guidance in your plan, and sufficient justification for it, your manager has asked you to ground your recommendations in theory. You may use the Theories Template completed earlier in the course to guide you as you evaluate the theories.

In your evaluation, you will consider the impact of the theories on team dynamics, group behavior, and group performance. You will also select a theory that is most appropriate to lead the team. As you determine an appropriate theory, be sure to address the following:

1. Evaluate theories for how they support your leadership of the specific team.
2. Select the theory most appropriate for leading the team, justifying your selection for how it supports cohesive team dynamics and positively impacts group behavior and performance.
3. Provide examples of how the selected theory may be used to lead the team in various situations. For example, how might the application of the theory assist with conflict management? Additional Leadership Concerns: You will need to consider these topics related to leadership and the task you have been given.
4. What ethical concerns could affect the process of merging employees from various other teams?
5. Which factors of power, politics and influence might be relevant in this situation?
6. How might you apply feedback, coaching, and/or mentoring best practices?
7. Previously, ChiChi Dog Food Co. only distributed to brick-and-mortar pet stores. A new focus of the company is to expand to online sales and distribution. How will this transition to a more diverse and global clientele affect your leadership plans?
8. What risks are possible with this transition and which crisis communication plans may be required? Write essay that addresses each of the required prompt