Human Resources

Sabrena Williams

May 5, 2013

Dr. Tonya Moore

HRM 532 – Talent Management

Sabrena Williams

May 5, 2013

Dr. Tonya Moore

HRM 532 – Talent Management

Case Study : AVON

Sabrena Williams

Week 4 Assignment 2

Provide a brief description of the status of the company that led to its determination that a change was necessary.

Avon is a 122-year-old company who was founded by David H. McConnell, who was a door-to-door bookseller who provided samples of perfume as an incentive to his customers. By, 2005 Avon was an $8 billion company. (Goldsmith M, 2006).

Avon, decided a change was necessary in order to compete in an ever so changing world. This company revenue was declining and profits were at an all time low. While the situation had factors contributing to its demise, Avon finally figured out what the problem was. They were growing way to fast. As with many growing organizations the structure, people and processes that were right for a $5 billion company were not necessarily a good fit for a ten billion dollar company (Effron, 2005). By, 2006, Avon was not able to produce the talent that it once had. While some of those gaps were due to missing or poorly functioning talent processes, an underlying weakness seemed to lie in the overall approach to managing talent and talent practices (Goldsmith M, 2010).

Managers or bottom line sales associates knew nothing about how existing talent practices, performance management, or succession planning worked. They new nothing about what it was suppose to do. Often times, they used just pure knowledge in making important decisions.

The problem was no talent pipeline for this once multi-million dollar company. The Human Resource department could not answer one of the most basic questions that a manager could ask about talent practices and that is: “What will happen to me if I don’t do this?” (Goldsmith M, 2010). There was no talent pipeline.

Identify the model for change theory typified in the case study of...