Established in 1999, First National Bank of Arizona is a fast growing and ever-changing environment. The primary focus at inception of the bank was to establish efficiency within the mortgage department prior to delving into the retail banking area. Each of the twenty-nine retail branches were operated solely on the support and leadership of its manager; to deal with two different branches for a specific situation would lead to two different responses. From an operational standpoint, this was ineffective and expensive. .
Identification of Problem.
The problem recognized by executive management was the retail system required restructuring and standardization as the key for better operational and cost-effective controls. The actual outcome of this problem was flawed as a result of inadequate research, ineffective execution and limited input of ideas. The focus of this paper is what the proper solution to the problem should have been, which is to design and develop a detailed research process that utilizes a project team consisting of people who have previously held abundant and diverse experience in the subject matter of retail banking and operations. The project team would be responsible for the restructuring and standardization of the retail system.
Analysis.
The solution of using an internal project team was initially developed through a process of brainstorming several hypothetical questions relating to how the research of the most effective way to restructure and standardize the bank will take place. Examples of these questions, in no definitive order, include:.
Should the research be completed by an internal group of people or contracted to an outside company?.
Who will be responsible for the monitoring process of the internal or external research team?.
If an internal group of researchers is utilized, who is responsible for determining the members?.
If an internal group of researchers is utilized, will the members focus on this research full-time or in-between day-to-day responsibilities? .