1.
Mabel’s Labels: Leading In A Results­Only Work Environment
Kim McLean
Joel Luxford
Jerry Boayke
Phillips Ejiofor
Natasha DeSousa
Shoji Aqui­Somai
Fanshawe College
MGMT­3041 Organizational Behaviour
April 7, 2016

2. Introduction:
The following is an analysis of the implementation of the Results Only Work Environment
(ROWE) strategy at Mabel’s Labels Incorporated. This company originally manufactured labels
for children’s items; then expanded to supplying labels for many items including: child safety
products, household labels, seasonal item, seniors’ labels, hockey labels and write away
products. ROWE is a strategy that aims to treat its employees as “adults”. Within this work
environment, employees were given flexible schedules, unlimited vacation time and the ability to
work from home as long as their deliverables/goals were met. As a result of this implementation
productivity and employee job satisfaction were increased. Recently, the company has identified
a number of complications resulting from their transition to the ROWE initiative. The
recommendation below attempts to identify the core issues and remedy the most appropriate
course of action.
Situational Analysis
Key Decision Makers:
1. Julie Cole ­ co­founder of Mabel’s Labels
2. Cynthia Esp’s ­ co­founder of Mabel’s Labels
3. Julie Ellis ­ co­founder of Mabel’s Labels
4. Tricia Mumby ­ co­founder of Mabel’s Labels
5. Katie Clark ­ customer service manager
6. Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson ­ authors of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It
7. Pre­ROWE employees ­ both senior and junior employees
8. New and seasonal employees
9. Customer base
Summary of facts:
1. Employees are enjoy and are thriving under ROWE
2. Higher levels of productivity ­ example: customer service department is now accomplishing
more projects and product launches, resulting in more sales and increased revenue.
3. ROWE was implemented in 2013 immediately without testing the effect it could have on the
company productivity and employee’s workload, however, involved a long transition
4. ROWE allows significant freedom to employees in organization
5. Management admits that using ROWE requires a concerted effort to ensure the team does
not revert back to old habits
6. Management admits difficulty exists in identifying if employees are working to capacity or
simply meeting expectations
7. Mabel’s Labels is an award­winning, celebrity endorsed company with a strong marketing
base
8. There is a talented workforce throughout the organization

3.
Symptoms occurring:
1. Employee entitlement ­ employees are not feeling like they have earned their vacation time.
Some workers were too nervous to take any vacation days as they thought they were taking
advantage of the system
2. “Drive­bys” in the workplace that are social in nature have resulted in some employees
feeling like they were not being respectful of other workers by interrupting work to chat
3. Management struggling at times to manage employees who chose to work from home
4. Miscommunication and misunderstanding resulting from emails
5. Not an official time to end the workday­ resulting the possibility of employees overworking
themselves
6. Taking advantage of the covering system (customer service department) resulting in higher
levels of absenteeism
7. A lack of understanding with the ROWE system between employees and their families has
caused issues with time management when working from home.
Critical inferences:
1. The executive team made a strategic choice to implement ROWE that appears to have a
number of positive benefits throughout the organization.
2. Miscommunication, misunderstanding and a lack of personal connection is a direct result of
employees working from home and losing the advantages that come with working in an office
setting.
3. The organization has undergone a major change that has resulted in a number of
complications as a result of the transition to ROWE. These complications are the core issues
this organization is experiencing.
4. The organization as a whole is generally accepting of the ROWE initiative and would prefer to
maintain a similar level of flexibility and freedom.
Assumptions:
1. The company and its executives are determined to continue growing the organization while
maintaining the ROWE strategy.
2. We believe that a number of the issues currently being experienced are the direct result of
having transitioned too quickly to a ROWE strategy that was not adequately researched
developed by management.
3. A ROWE­based initiative has a number of benefits and downfalls but ultimately requires a lot
of patience and persistence from management to ensure targets are being met.
4. We are assuming that the company has the resources available and are willing to increase
the amount of their budget allocated to resolving the issues related to ROWE.

4.
Problem Statement
What should the executive team at Mabel’s Labels do in the short term to decrease
complications resulting from the transition to a ROWE structured work environment and in the
long run allow for a more efficient organization so as to have a more productive and engaged
workforce?
Analysis
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths Weaknesses
● Growing company by adding one
exceptional employee at a time to
build an extraordinary team.
● Multiple accolades
● Innovative
● Increase of productivity as a result of
ROWE
● Targets a niche market
● Decisions are made and implemented
quicker through its managers
● Small private company
● The company is relatively young
● Implementing ROWE has caused
complications amongst employees
● Dependance on the employee to meet
goals with limited supervision
● Under ROWE, employees can be less
team­oriented and focused more on
individualized goals
Opportunities Threats
● Niche Markets minimizes competition
● Generation Y is tech savvy meaning it
is easier for Mabel Label to reach a
wider audience.
● Government of Canada assists
families with young children through
UCC which means family has more
disposable income to spend on their
young children.
● The introduction and growth of mobile
apps could help the company reach a
much wider audience.
● Canada’s millennials fertility rate is
not growing as rapidly as the baby
boomers.
● Being in a niche market limits their
growth rate as their customer base
can be limited.
● Stronger brand names like Crayola
and 3M dominate the market share for
art and supplies
● Low barriers to entry, therefore higher
possibility for increased competition
Alternatives
First Alternative:

5. Do nothing ­ leave the organization to operate the way it currently is and allow the complications
resulting from the transition to ROWE to solve themselves organically.
Advantages:
1. ​Feeling of self­sufficiency​ ­ Leaving the issue to be solved by the company internally may
create an even closer relationship and open culture than the current status.
2. ​Increased efficiency​ ­ Time and effort could be focused on other problems the company might
be facing
3. ​Avoid unnecessary change​ ­ Management can avoid more adverse complications from
implementing a new system and continue with a process that appears to be widely accepted by
the organization.
Disadvantages:
1. ​Cascading issues​ ­ To leave the issue to solve itself could prove unsuccessful and actually
create more problems.
2. ​Opportunity costs​ ­ By choosing not to seek outside help with alternative methods not
involving ROWE, the company may be missing out on opportunities that external options may
provide.
3. ​Problem avoidance​ ­ It is not addressing the issues that some employees have with ROWE’s
implementation.
Second Alternative:
Develop a structured system that implements rules and limitations to ROWE to create a more
definitive understanding amongst the organization and a rewards oriented environment
Advantages:
1. ​Increased competition​ ­ Creates a friendly competitive environment for employees if they
want to unlock more ROWE rewards. This friendly competitive environment will also cause
employees to be more innovative and proactive as there would be incentive to do so.
2. ​Performance management​ ­ By issuing performance based rewards, it allows managers to
actively monitor employees performances in order to validate the rewards
3. ​Decreased ambiguity & increased structure​ ­ Develop a guideline or rule book for employees
to adhere to as the current ROWE system permits employees too much flexibility. Having too
much flexibility may cause some employees to abuse the system which would result in a drop in
performance. By curbing some of that flexibility and rewarding it on performance base instead,
employees will want to perform in order to receive the flexibility.
Disadvantages:
1. ​Loss of flexibility​ ­ Removes some of the flexibility for the ROWE work environment, which
may result in backlash amongst employees. ROWE was introduced to Mabel Label to allow

6. employees the freedom of choosing their work schedule, picking their vacations and working
from home. Creating rules or guidelines to monitor the ROWE system will contradict the
fundamental positive behind establishing ROWE at Mabel Label.
2. ​Arbitrary performance measures​ ­ May be difficult to establish an arbitrary measurement to
monitor performances for rewards. Since the reward ROWE program will be new, management
would have to conduct research to arbitrarily calculate which performance level should be
associated with its corresponding rewards
3. ​Possible discrimination​ ­ May create discrimination and an “I not We” mentality in the
workplace as not all employees have the same work skills, experience, physical or mental
ability. Many older employees’ who have family may find it is harder to meet performance level
as they are too busy with their personal lives. Whereas newer employee’s may not have the
work experience to handle complex projects, or assignments. Employee's physical or mental
ability may also limit some from performing certain task. Lastly certain employees may have
different skills set which may be give them a competitive advantage over others.
Third Alternative:
Make use of collaborative technology and electronic communication such as Office 365
Business Premium to implement an advanced organizational system that allows employees to
work flexible hours while also encouraging teamwork and implementing deadlines on a regular
basis for each project. With Office 365 Business Premium, the program Skype is included and
can be used for video and audio meetings to supplement commuting to work while keeping
face­to­face communication a possibility. Information and sharing capabilities are maintained
from from one, easy to use platform.
Advantages:
1. ​Increased efficiency​ ­ Allows for up­to­the­minute communication on collaborative tasks and
can be used as a resource to increase clarity regarding job expectations
2. ​Organization and structure​ ­ If used correctly, this alternative will provide a clear, defined
structure to an employee’s work that has the ability to signal the end of a task; one issue
brought up by employees who were frustrated by ROWE not offering a defined end to the work
day.
3. ​Low ambiguity among experienced users ​­ The majority of users have already used the
Microsoft Office Suite; therefore, the possibility of complications with integration is mitigated.
Disadvantages:
1. ​Fear of change ​­ The implementation of new technology is likely to be met with contention
from employees who are unfamiliar with the software and could increase communication issues
initially as workers adapt to a new platform to work from.
2. ​Time​ ­ To properly make full use of the programs employees may need training which may
delay the resolution of ROWE.
3. ​Low amount of interaction​ ­ This alternative will not address one of the main complications
resulting from ROWE ­ the restricted ability for social relationships to develop between

7. co­workers created from enabling employees to continue to have a flexible work schedules and
low in person interaction.
Fourth Alternative:
Modify ROWE to include mandatory in­person meetings and employee functions on a regular
basis that are designed to keep employees informed and personally connected to their
coworkers.
Advantages:
1. ​Stay up to date­​ Employees will be constantly informed on all necessary information needed
to continue to reach their goals as a company.
2 .​Create friendships​­ Employee functions will allow workers to become more familiar with each
other leading to a welcoming work environment.
3. ​Increased communication​­ Making meetings and events mandatory, employees will have
more face­to­face time to collaborate on ideas and projects which can create a better company.
By implementing this alternative, employees will not risk information being misunderstood that
otherwise would have been if sent via email or text message.
Disadvantages:
1. ​Confusion​­ The company has worked hard to integrate ROWE into their workplace so by
changing the rules many employees may become confused and have a difficult time adapting to
the new changes.
2. ​Busy schedules​­ Many employees work hard to create a work schedules that fit their lifestyles
so this alternative may cause dilemmas when finding a time that works for all workers.
3. ​Inefficient use of time­​ The company will have to allocate someone to plan these meetings
and events. They will have to find a good time and place to hold these functions which can be
timely. Many workers will also feel like coming to work for these events be would be a waste of
their time that could be better used on ongoing projects. They may also not be happy about
having to commute to work if they are used to working from home regularly.
Recommended Plan of Action
Our recommended plan of action is to make use of collaborative technology and electronic
communication such as Office 365 Business Premium to implement a “checklist­like” system
that allows employees to work flexible hours while also encouraging teamwork and
implementing deadlines on a regular basis for each project. This alternative also provides a
compromise between in person communication and ROWE’s ideal of creating a flexible work
environment.
Alternative #1 “Do nothing” was not chosen for the following reasons:
1. It could be detrimental to the productivity of the company if the current problems escalate.

8. 2. New hires may not understand the goals and initiatives of ROWE due to pre­existing
dynamics and conflicts between staffs.
Alternative #2 “Rules and Limitations” was not chosen for the following reasons:
1. This alternative is likely to result in a large deviation from the ROWE initiative that has been
widely accepted by the organization
2. There would likely be a large backlash from the employees regarding new restrictions to
ROWE and the flexible environment they have become accustomed to. The staff would likely
resent this change resulting in additional complications.
Alternative # 4 “Mandatory in Person Meetings” was not chosen for the following reasons:
1. It would be difficult to force employees to come in for meetings when ROWE is known to be a
flexible initiative.
2. The company has worked hard to implement ROWE so it may be difficult and confusing for
employees if new rules were added.
By selecting the recommended plan of action, the problem statement has been resolved by:
1. Increasing the effectiveness of electronic communication by offering multiple platforms within
the Office suite to connect and communicate with co­workers.
2. Maintaining the flexible work environment that the organization believes is effective while
providing a more structured atmosphere on a web­based platform; thereby allowing for less role
ambiguity and increased efficiency and productivity.
3. Developing relationships between co­workers through the use of face­to­face programs like
Skype that will prevent feeling of alienation from workers who are choosing to work from home.
The disadvantages of the recommended plan of action are mitigated by:
1. The software recommendations that have been chosen are very popular outside of the
organization and it is likely that most employees have experience using Skype and Microsoft
Office. This strategic platform choice was made to reduce the fear of change among employees.
2. Additionally,, we are recommending that management implement company­wide training on
how to use the software effectively by hiring trained consultants. This strategy will hopefully
reduce the time required to see results from this initiative.
3. The recommended platform includes the use of Skype, which allows employees the chance
to have face­to­face interaction with their co­workers while continuing to offer the same level of
flexibility they are currently accustomed to. Ultimately, a new culture and set of ideals could
develop for Mabel’s Labels as a result of this change.
Timeline for implementing the plan of action:
Action Items Immediate Within 6 Within Long

9. action months One Year term
Hold a organization­wide meeting to notify
the employees of a change in technology
and introduce the platforms that will be
used.
x
Train management on the new software
and develop a training program that can
be used interdepartmentally to introduce
basic use; however, tailor more advanced
uses of the program to each department’s
specific needs.
x
Implement company­wide training and
coaching sessions by hiring expert
consultants to ensure that the entire staff
has seamlessly adopted the new Office
platform
x
Conduct surveys and follow­up
questionnaires to determine if the change
in productivity that was expected has
actually happened.
x
Concluding Comments
The swift implementation of ROWE by the executive team at Mabel’s Labels has resulted in a
number of complications stemming from this transition including but not limited to the following:
● Impediment of the development of relationships between co­workers and managers
● Miscommunication and misunderstanding resulting from electronic communication
● Issues concerning the management of employees working from home and achieving to
their potential.
The recommended plan of action is to implement the use of business integration software that
makes managing one’s time and employees effectively and efficiently through technology. The
Microsoft Office 365 Business platform features programs that this company’s employees are
likely familiar with which should help ease the transition. A software package like Office 365 will
allow Mabel’s Labels employees to continue to have the same flexible work environment they
have grown accustomed to under ROWE but with a more organized and streamlined software
system.
The recommended plan of action to make use of business integration software is integral to
solving the complications that have developed from implementing ROWE too quickly. The

10. software is designed to correct the miscommunication issues and synergize employees and
managers in a way that fosters the development of professional relationships. Performance
management and interdepartmental communication should become more efficient as a result of
this recommendation.
The only way to correct a problem is to deliberate over alternatives and determine the best
course of action. We feel adopting a technological change will result in the most effective
decrease to complications resulting from ROWE and ultimately create a more efficient,
productive and engaged workforce.
References
https://products.office.com/en­ca/business/office­365­business­premium