Case 3 1. Intro (casandra)
The case is about Excelsior Steel, a large steel manufacturer founded in the 1960’s. The company currently has a centralized hierarchical structure, where top management makes most of the decisions and there are several departments that handle the manufacturing, marketing, metallurgy, field sales, and support of the company. Once the company realized that their company was not competitive anymore they decided to reorganize to create less red tape for making decisions. A big part of restructuring is understanding, “ultimately, a company’s value is no more than the sum of the decisions it makes and executes,” and in order to allow for an easier flow of information vertically through the organization there needs…show more content… The company then rehired the essential personnel needed for the newest technology and focused on training them well. An example of the change in technology would be the implementation of electronic mail and voicemail for the employees to use in order to improve communication between departments which increased their efficiency and time to manufacture steel.
Second, Excelsior decided to allow employees who have product ideas to plead their case management and then design and implement approved products. Allowing for innovation the products and processes within the company. Asking recommendations from employees
Third, Excelsior did everything to increase communication between workers and more fluidity of information. By putting emphasis on the functional teams this allowed the team managers to keep up to date on the latest technologies and training which made sure if they were assigned to a project manager they were abreast of their job requirements. what type of culture exists? Is it effective? How do you know? (prince)
How can the communication climate be characterized? Is it appropriate? What should change? (yavaris)
It is not clear that a company in Excelsior’s position can ever stop changing. What are some of the disadvantages of continuous change? How could Excelsior minimize them? (spencer)
Although it is unclear as to whether or not a company in Excelsior’s position
HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. (1998): THE 95TH ANNIVERSARY
Introduction & Situation Analysis
Harley-Davidson has been a widely admired fixture in the motorcycle industry since the “golden years” of American motorcycle manufacturing (1900-1931), when at times there were as many as 200 different brands of American-made motorcycles. By 1930, the market had consolidation and the “big three” – Harley-Davidson, Indian Motorcycle, and Excelsior Supply – together accounted for 90% of the market (Ballon, 1997, p. 43)
CHAPTER
AUDIT REPORTS
THE AUDIT REPORT WAS TIMELY, BUT AT WHAT COST?
3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
3-1 Describe the parts of the standard unqualified audit report. Specify the conditions required to issue the standard unqualified audit report. Understand combined reporting on financial statements and internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. Describe the five circumstances when an unqualified report with an