Worldwide Equipment Case Analysis

Worldwide Equipment Case Analysis

Discussion
Weimin has not performed up to Worldwide Equipment standards. He is lacking in all
aspects outlined by the company for position advancement: seniority, sales
performance, sales leads generated, and team spirit. This is understandable for
someone who is new to the sales position, but Weimin has shown little to no
improvement. He was recently hired, so he certainly doesnt have any seniority.
Since being hired, he has generated 17 sales leads, and none of those have
resulted in any sales. Both of these statistics are lows within the sales force. Weimin
is also hugely lacking in team spirit; according to Wang, he is very silent and
introverted and has little ability to engage with people at all.
Wang hired Weimin on the basis of respecting his boss recommendation, but he
also felt that his knowledge and connections within the textile industry could be
beneficial. This is a unique characteristic that could set Weimin apart from the rest of
the sales team, but he has not taken advantage of it. He has many connections
within the industry, but he views them as friends, and he does not wish to mix his
personal life and business life, so he neglects capitalizing on them. This is
honorable, but if he doesnt choose to find leads elsewhere, his potential for success
is minimal. At one point, he tried to do business with one of his personal
connections, and when it didnt produce a sale, he burned a bridge by becoming
deeply angered with him. This not only affected him personally, but also hurt
Worldwide Equipments image.
Wang has observed that team morale has been trending downward ever since he
hired Weimin, and figures that Weimin is largely accountable, but it is tough to
pinpoint the exact cause(s). The failure of two of the projects that Weimin
spearheaded seems to be looming large, but there is also some frustration in the
office regarding the manner that Weimin was hired. The sales engineers are bitter
about his questionable background and mysterious connection with Yu. They are
also resentful about the fact that the Guangzhou office wants them to keep him
around because they are in the midst of a large deal with Weimins uncle, and they
feel that if he is fired, the deal will not happen. The Beijing sales engineers dont
think it is fair that they have to hurt themselves and their branch in order to benefit
the branch that they compete with. It is a huge conflict of interest. All of these issues
have been brought to the attention of Mr. Wang by the sales engineers, and
although he doesnt fully agree with all of them, he can understand their frustration
and agrees that Weimins performance has not been up to par. Wang has pondered
what he should do about Weimin, but is concerned that if he makes the wrong
decision, the morale of the office will continue to decay.
Because Wang didnt necessarily want to hire Weimin from the get-go, he likely
wasnt very motivated to train him properly. For example, Weimin showed up to a
business meeting with several superiors dressed in a suit and athletic shoes. This is
very basic business etiquette and could have easily been trained. Considering that
Weimin didnt even receive training to that extent, he likely wasnt given much
attention, and was instead thrown into the position and forced to figure it out on his
own. This could explain his poor sales performance. A new sales engineer is
expected to simply generate sales leads and learn how to speak professionally.
Weimin generated sales leads, but certainly not at the pace that is expected. An
average new hire is expected to generate three to four leads over a five-day trip;
Weimin travelled more than the average sales engineer and still mustered only 17
leads over a six month span. None of which produced a new contract. As a matter of
fact, Worldwide Equipment did not even receive any invitations for second-round
discussions from the leads he generated. This speaks volumes for his
professionalism and sales skills as he apparently could hardly make a decent
impression on the leads he did generate. Wang claims that Weimin is innocent, to
some extent and doesnt have the sense of urgency. He figures that Weimin
probably thought that he had a while to learn the ropes, but the reality is that he
didnt. Considering that Mr. Yu finds Weimin so valuable and that quick results were
expected, one would figure that Wang would have taken the time and effort to train
him sufficiently, but that apparently wasnt the case.
Amongst the decaying morale, poor sales performance, and lack of signs of
improvement, there lies political tension. Because of the nature of Weimins hiring as
a recommendation from Wangs boss, Mr. Yu, Wang is caught between trying to
choose what he feels to be the lesser of two evils. On one hand, he is pondering
firing Weimin in an attempt to rid the office of his poor team spirit and performance,
but that carries the possibility of disrespecting his boss and creating a whole new set
of problems for himself. On the other hand, he is pondering keeping Weimin to
please his boss and in hopes that he will eventually improve, but that carries the
possibility that he wont and it will harm office morale and performance even further.
Alongside the situation involving Weimin, Wang believes that office morale has also
been affected by the pressure to enter the textile market. This is a territory that is
relatively unknown to many of the sales engineers, so they feel a bit overwhelmed by
the expectation that they will be able to make a seamless transition to selling to a
whole different type of industry. This pressure likely only plays a small role in the
overall scheme of the office, but it is still something to consider.
Action Plan
It is apparent that measures need to be taken to restore well-being in the Beijing
office. Considering that Weimins probation expires in just two weeks, action needs
to be taken as soon as possible. Given the information provided about Wiemins first
six months at Worldwide Equipment, Mr. Wang should feel at ease firing him.
It is Mr. Wangs responsibility as a manager to look out for his employees and
provide the most suitable work environment for them. Li Wiemin has undoubtedly
soured the workplace for the rest of the sales engineers, and at what cost? It would
be somewhat understandable to retain him if he had generated sales, but he didnt.
Its not just that he didnt generate sales; he cost the company both directly and
indirectly. He travelled more than any other sales engineer, and had nothing to show
for it. He generated less leads than any other sales engineer, and even those he did
generate were not capitalized on. He burned bridges with connections and potential
clients, tarnishing the reputation of Worldwide Equipment within the textile industry it
is so desperately trying to enter. Lastly, he garnered the resentment of his fellow
sales engineers, causing a rift in the office that more than likely affected sales
performance. It would be to Mr. Wangs best interest to fire Wiemin as soon as
possible.
Although he is worried about his relationship with his boss, Mr. Wang is acting as a
savvy businessman would. Mr. Yu should respect Mr. Wangs decision, and allow
adequate time to assess its impact. Mr. Yu may feel bitter about the decision, but he
will eventually see the sense in it. In the business world, you cant make everyone
happy, thats why some companies excel while others fail.