Case Study MG352
With lower interest rates, businesses are starting to increase the size of their operations. However, Oldaf Arts, Inc., an office furniture manufacturing company, has not only failed to participate in this boom but their sales have actually declined. John Odlaf , Jr., son of the founder, has finally been convinced by his executive management team to call in a consultant to review the organization and its operations and make recommendations as to how this sales slump might be turned around.
You have been selected as the consultant and it is your job to analyze the organization and make recommendations as to what changes could be made to improve the organization.
With this expansion, Oldaf, Sr. began structuring the organization using the management model that he was most familiar with, that of the military. He built a pyramid organization for his company and began to redefine the work process with more specialized tasks for each employee. Initially, this increased production as more of a traditional assembly line developed and efficiency increased. With employees focusing on fewer tasks their output increased. As the company’s efficiency increased it was able to offer quality wood furniture at an even more competitive price while still maintaining a good profit margin.
This specialization continued and, for a period of time, increased efficiency continued and production and profits continued to increase. However, during the last three years the organization has seen productivity decrease, employee turnover increase and the quality of the products slip to a point where returns have increased from .03% to 1.5%.
Having been trained by his father, John, Jr. has reacted with what he knows best. He has attempted to deal with the quality problem by adding more...
