April 26, 2013 Case Name: Captiva Conglomerate I. Major Facts: A. Captiva Conglomerate has procured a new software product to provide a custom inventory management system. This system is not providing the information that the company needs, is behind schedule and over budget. B. The Inventory and Spares Manager has reported that that the system is “a disaster,” and “my people can’t use it.” The Materials Manager wonders whether or not the company should sue the supplier.
Store managers have been deprived of the opportunity to advance due to the lack of training and the general development of managerial skills by their supervisors. The third area concerns cooperation and morale within stores, which is low. The friendly atmosphere originally created by Doug Campbell has disappeared and is a valuable asset to the company. The fourth area concerns the long-term growth and development of the store chain – a re-evaluation of long-term strategy is recommended to compete with the changing trends towards department stores in the industry. ISSUE 1: The Thunderbunnies Consulting Group recognizes the need to adapt to change in both their layout and structure.
He stressed that patience was needed during the ongoing conversion. Now, during his private moment, Lassiter was beginning to recognize the problems and complexities he faced with the system conversion. The work of his marketing staff had ground to a halt, unable to access the new computer system to handle their accounts. Even worse, something had happened to the data in most of the old PC systems, which meant conference registrations and other functions had to be done manually. These inconveniences, however, were minor compared to Lassiter’s uneasy feeling that there were problems with Midsouth’s whole approach to the management of information technology.
Lowry, however, stated that she was never given a choice, and subsequently requested a transfer to another department. Walmart then gave her 90 days to find another job within the company, and human resources officials told her that they would have to discuss “next steps” if she couldn’t in time – meaning she would be fired. I found this to be an interesting response to Lowry’s complaint, and I am surprised that Walmart would take such a powerful stance against someone who is trying to reveal potential ethics issues within the company, especially at a time when Walmart was being scrutinized for their firing of marketing executive Julie Roehm for reportedly violating the company’s code of ethics by accepting gifts from vendors and for having an affair with a subordinate, both of which she denies. In a follow-up article in October (Businessweek: Wal-Mart Whistleblower Lands a Job), Businessweek reported that she found a job after 4 months of looking and 30 applications to in-house
In this case study Antonio work in the Empress Luxury Lines and he faced dilemma regarding the ethic in the work place. Kevin Pfeiffer works as a computer technician and his roles to estimated damage due to recent thunderstorm. Antonio requested a computer systems upgrade ever since he assumed his post two years ago. Phil Bailey, who was Kevin Pfeiffer’s supervisor, orders Kevin to reports the estimate of damage. Kevin reports about the $15,000 worth of damage so his supervisor and the chief financial officer both were unhappy with it.
ABINGTON-HILL TOYS, INC. Part 1: Financial-Ratio Analysis I. INTRODUCTION With the death of Lewis Hill, Abington-Hill Toy Company is in search for a new president. A key concern of the owners was the lack of financial planning and general crisis-to-crisis pattern that had characterized the firm’s operation in recent years. The firm’s owners felt that the company’s prospects were good if a capable manager could take over the leadership position. After an extensive outside the firm search for a new leader, Vernon Albright assumed the position of president.
Dana and Henry saw themselves as strategic contributors to the business strategy of MGI, whereas Sasha perceived them as interns and business plan writers, while Igor saw them as helping with vision and strategy. When Dav was added to the team, it confused Henry and caused him to question Sasha’s decisions, and the roles he expected the students to have. The case states “Feeling overburdened, Henry realized that his and Dana’s role on the team had become increasingly muddled” Having never completely resolved their interpersonal conflicts, we can say that the group never reached the Norming Stage. They were technically still stuck in the Storming stage, with each
In 1978, Simmons had the first non-family member, Theodore Greeff, elected as the CEO of the company. From that time onwards, Simmons had many different people operating it as its owners. This caused the company to become unstable and have no long term vision. The company went through several ups and downs during that period. Multiple divisions were added and then removed from the company and it eventually settled down focusing on what it did best; making mattresses Simmons started experiencing lack of coordination and motivation amongst the employees during its “downfall period”.
Analysis: Although Green is willing to achieve a high selling growth for the company, he concentrated too much on achieving the goal instead of observing the surrounding situation. Moreover, Green did not have enough managerial experiences so he was not able to deal with issues based on a structural and long-term view; that's why he decided to avoid interactions with Davis instead of making improvements or rebuilding his relationship with Davis after Davis first criticized him. Their divergence in work style and personalities also contributed to the problem. For example, Davis prefers using memos or presentations when a meeting is set up, while Green would rather talk to his client directly or talk about things face to face. In addition, lack of communication further deteriorated the situation between Davis and Green.
Furthering complications, CEO Daniels has now chosen Jimenez due to her success in Wichita, to roll the project out at multiple plants. The misguided understanding as to why Wichita was a success, with no clear budgeting or performance measures, unrealistic timelines, and no reward for success or consequence for failure at the plant level is sure to lead to serious complications. Pressure to meet Daniels expectations is encouraging Jimenez to continue pursuing the wrong solutions while she works under a tight deadline. The additional pressure of implementing a “one size fits all” system that is already underway company-wide, will likely result in Jimenez underperforming as future plant projects are rolled out, leading to her ultimate demise in the long run. Extend Timeframe and Shift Approach: Jimenez should shift her approach away from consulting techniques and teams headed by outside consultants.