Case Study on Rondell Data Corporation
The Growth of Rondell
Rondell Data Corporation was founded in 1920 by Bob Rondell. Its inception was based on Rondell’s invention of several electrical testing devices. During the 60’s the company had increased its business to include data transmission equipment. Rondell data Corporation had a reputation of being a source of high quality innovative designs. By 1978 they had two major lines known as Broadcast Equipment and Data Transmission, with broadcast equipment accounting for 35% of the company sales, and Data transmission blossoming with increased demand for highly specialized and innovative designs.
Sources of Conflicts
The conflicts in Rondell started gradually as a result of increase in disputes between research, engineering sales, and production staff over the last few years. The disputes seem to center on the problem of new product introduction, and are focused on the engineering department. There were communication issues between departments and upper Management.
Rondell’s outdated organizational structure contributed also to the conflicts. The structure in Rondell follows a strictly functional approach. Rondell also lacks the cohesive and clearly organized structure required of a large company. As the company was growing, the different departments were also growing, but at different rates and interactions were changing disproportionately. The engineering, research and development departments bore the brunt of this irregular expansion, because the workforce for the engineering department is distributed among other departments. This leaves them without a clear mission or purpose and the chain of command is therefore unknown. For instance the engineering services are bogged down by the details of managing its disparate components and employees instead of increasing the product line under their direction.
The Organizational Design at Rondell
The organizational structure in Rondell was based on several beliefs, such as length of employment which is the
Rondell Data Corporation was founded in 1920 by Bob Rondell. Its inception was based on Rondell’s invention of several electrical testing devices. During the 60’s the company had increased its business to include data transmission equipment. Rondell data Corporation had a reputation of being a source of high quality innovative designs. By 1978 they had two major lines known as Broadcast Equipment and Data Transmission, with broadcast equipment accounting for 35% of the company sales, and Data transmission blossoming with increased demand for highly specialized and innovative designs.
Sources of Conflicts
The conflicts in Rondell started gradually as a result of increase in disputes between research, engineering sales, and production staff over the last few years. The disputes seem to center on the problem of new product introduction, and are focused on the engineering department. There were communication issues between departments and upper Management.
Rondell’s outdated organizational structure contributed also to the conflicts. The structure in Rondell follows a strictly functional approach. Rondell also lacks the cohesive and clearly organized structure required of a large company. As the company was growing, the different departments were also growing, but at different rates and interactions were changing disproportionately. The engineering, research and development departments bore the brunt of this irregular expansion, because the workforce for the engineering department is distributed among other departments. This leaves them without a clear mission or purpose and the chain of command is therefore unknown. For instance the engineering services are bogged down by the details of managing its disparate components and employees instead of increasing the product line under their direction.
The Organizational Design at Rondell
The organizational structure in Rondell was based on several beliefs, such as length of employment which is the
References: 1. Curtis W. Cook, Philip L. Hunsaker & Robert E. Coffey, (1997, p.87): Management and Organizational behavior 2nd edition. 2. Reimann, B. C. & Wiener, Y. (1988). Corporate culture: Avoiding the elitist trap, Business Horizons, 31, 36-44.