Kenworth Motors Case Study

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HR 418 Kenworth Motors Case Study 1a. The OD consultant did very little preparation for this meeting. He openly admitted to the plant manager that he knew almost nothing about the company during the meeting. On the drive across Washington he thought to himself, “I knew little about the man or the firm and had no focused agenda”. His only basis for believing that he would be helpful to Denton, was that Denton was referred to him by a previous client. The consultant has a very high regard for that previous client’s competence and judgement. 1b. In our opinion, the consultant had ample opportunity to research the company itself as well as the plant manager’s history. The information states that the consultant deliberately put off thinking about the meeting until he was in the car traveling. It is our opinion that this additional research could have been the difference between a successful meeting and a disaster. The consultant had the good fortune to be meeting with a plant manager who was enthusiastic and invested in his work. He was willing to expound on every aspect of the plant’s operation in detail. Had this not been the case, the consultant would have needed to be better prepared to clarify the organizational issues during the meeting. 2a. From the moment the consultant arrived he presented himself in a very respectful, cordial manner. He was able to build a familiarity with the Denton by sharing his past encounters with the industry and expressing warm curiosity about the operations that took place there. He employed active listening throughout the conversation with Denton and was able to learn quite a bit about the state of things. He offered empathy and support to Denton about his concerns that there may be unidentified issues within the company. Through his communication and participation it would allow his involvement with

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