Issues and Discussion Questions
1.What kinds of products and technologies does Benson Metals use? How have these been changing recently?
Benson Metals, a medium-sized maker of specialty steel products, has traditionally used a craftsliketechnology to produce a variety of metals. In terms of Perrow’s model of technology, task variety andtask analyzability are low, as there is still guesswork, skill, and even some “black magic” inmanufacturing products. Benson also produces metals in very small quantities—pounds not tons—so thatin terms of Woodward’s model it is small batch, and the skills and knowledge of production people aremore important than machines in getting the job done—task complexity is low.Recently, the company has moved
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Communication and decision-making haveslowed as a result of uncooperative attitudes. Integration between functions is falling. This is dangerousfor nonroutine technology that requires a high level of differentiation and integration to be effective.
3.What is causing these problems in Benson Metals?
The sources of the conflict can be isolated. Keep the discussion focused on the people, principallyRamrod, and examine what he is doing wrong; this approach makes the later analysis of power moredramatic.The attitudes and behavior of Ramrod Stockwell cause the problem. Although he is competent, he causesconflict within his own function and other functions. In his own function he fails to delegate authorityand keeps the reins of power in his own hands. He has a centralized management style and does not shareinformation, which makes it impossible for subordinates to provide salespeople with the information theyneed. He does not follow the chain of command; he goes to people only when he needs them. Violatinglines of authority reduces the authority of his managers and also leaves them uninformed.His attitudes affect relationships with other functions, especially sales, because he also does not allowsubordinates to share any but routine information. Because of the centralization of authority in production, subordinates do not possess information. Only Rob Bronson, the vice president of
groups of her lower extremities bilaterally. Sensory exam is normal to pin prick and light touch
IgG – funtions in neutralizing, opsonation, compliment activation, antibody dependent cell-mediated cytocity, neonatal immunity, and feedback inhibition of B-cells and found in the blood.
Richard Scrushy’s management style was one that fostered intimidation and fear amongst his employees. The weekly Monday morning meetings were often called Monday morning beatings when the actual budget numbers did not meet the forecasted expectations. “Every Monday morning he grilled his division chiefs on the profits in their areas of responsibility and publicly berated any subordinate who failed to meet his expectations” (Solieri, Felo & Hodowanitz, 2008, p. 342).
Build the management-research question hierarchy, through the investigative questions stage. Then compare your list with the measurement questions asked.
6. If the company decides to go ahead with the targeted stock issue, what specific provisions or features should the stock include to ensure maximum value creation? How closely would you model USX’s targeted stock on GM’s alphabet stock?
Jules Kroll is planning to enter into the ratings industry. To determine whether it is a good idea and a good time for him to enter into the new business, we project the 5-year NPV for KBRA and apply SWOT analysis to KBRA. The 5-year projected NPV is $341.1 million, a positive number. It is a good time and a good idea for KBRA to enter the business. However, through our SWOT analysis, it would be difficult for KBRA to become competitive in a short time. Thus we suggest it add a credit rating division into the company to make attempts to it but not start up a
Young Professional magazine was developed for a target audience of recent college graduates who are in their first 10 years in a business/professional career. In its two years of publication the magazine has been fairly successful. Now the publisher is interested in expanding the magazine’s advertising base. Potential advertisers continually ask about the demographics and interests of subscribers to Young Professional. To collect this information the magazine has commissioned a survey to develop a profile of its subscribers. The survey results will be used to help the magazine choose articles of interest and provide advertisers with a profile of subscribers. As a new employee of the magazine, you have been
Using the scenarios in case Exhibit 9, what role does leverage play in affecting the return on equity (ROE) for CPK? What about the cost of capital? In assessing the effect of leverage on the cost of capital, you may assume that a firm’s CAPM beta can be modeled in the following manner: BL = BU[1 + (1 − T)D/E], where BU is the firm’s beta without leverage, T is the corporate income tax rate, D is the market value of debt, and E is the market value of equity.
Specifically, Billy Riggan is experiencing a “free-rider” problem with his fellow research scientists. Moreover, Billy is dealing with a sense of responsibility due to the fact that he is the one in charge of making the choices on product innovations and technological developments. However, the other research scientists are counting on his sense of responsibility for him to actively work to ensure the success of the company. Furthermore, Billy could be experiencing some low confidence in his management abilities due to the lack of involvement from these research scientists. In any case, there could be a possible risk of derailment with his job if he were to take this problem to higher management, which could look as if he is not management material and the upper-management could demote him.
In the Romano Pitesti case, Tickton-Jones’ Management Team is faced with a situation that is not altogether uncommon in the business world, in that some employees feel that members of the Sales staff are being given “special” treatment by the company. Romano’s actions have probably not been as bad as what has been described to Management, but due to the fact that employees are still trying to find their place in the new, combined company, any hint of “unfairness” is immediately put under a microscope by other employees, and therefore, Management will have to take some sort of action, in order to show the other employees that their concerns are being taken seriously.
In the case of “Thomas Green: power, office politics, and a career in Crisis”, it describes the dilemma of Thomas Green who works in a company called Dynamic Display. Thomas was recruited as an account executive, and then five months later, he was promoted as a Senior Market Specialist directly by the President Shannon McDonald. Thomas’s boss Frank Davis hadn’t expected to choose Green as the new senior market specialist, and he was very dissatisfied with Green’s work style and performance three months after the promotion. After being informed that Frank Davis had emailed McDonald about his concerns about Green’s performance, Green was getting really worried about his situation and not sure how to explain his perspective to
Peter Browning’s dilemmas are the urgency/necessity to change White Cap’s organization’s operations to become more competitive with actual markets and customer’s necessities but there are some organizational culture factors that would need to change in order to make White Cap a more proactive corporation. Some factors in particular are the seniority of some key manager positions (under his supervision) that represent the true identity of White Cap and the importance of their role in earlier years with the company, however their performance in those particular areas had led White Cap to their actual situation, also the company image at corporate levels was particularly ask to be
4- The committee and Ms Beckel decided to include a religious studies curriculum in the program. The principal approved of it. However, Ms Wright one of the community members did not. She threatened to show up at the committee meeting with the media. On the day of the meeting, Ms Wright showed up with a placard protesting the use of the bible in public schools.
Therefore, the time given is the time it takes to stamp 1 of the 4 components on one machine. Another assumption I have made is the workers performing the stitching are all equally paced. It takes each worker the exact same amount of time to perform their duties and pass the product along to the next group.
Q.1 – Briefly describe the dilemma presented in this case study. Who are the key players and what are some of the antecedents that have led to the present problem? Ans. When the best manager, takes certain actions which go against the core values of the company, it becomes really difficult for the management to make a fair judgement. They are stuck in a dilemma of what would be a better judgement. As a leader, it is very important to be fair and impartial to your team members. And so is the dilemma presented in the case, Bob’s Meltdown, Nicholas G. Carr. The key players in this case are1. Annette Innella 2. Robert Dunn 3. Jay Nguyen Annette Innella is the Vice President, Knowledge Management at Concord Machines. She was recently hired by