Dim Lighting Case Study Essay
Case Study 1
Left Blank
Dim Lighting is manufacturing company facing profitability issues. Dim Lighting had a less profitable year compared to prior years and their operations didn’t meet their targets. (Brown, 2011) The management team is also struggling with how to address their profitability issue. The personnel need to improve their organizational development in order to become profitable again.
Problems
Jim West the general manager has quite a few problems to address within the case study. The largest issue he needs to solve is his division’s profitability problem. Jim’s division has shown “profitability for his prior five years however last year his profitability decreased by fifteen percent” (Brown, 2011, p.81). The secondary problem which is connected to his first problem is whether to invest into a new project proposed by his research and design director in order to improve his division. (Brown, 2011) These two problems are closely tied to each other because they will affect Jim’s future in the company. There are a few smaller problems within …show more content…
Dim Lighting’s division to address as well. These include the issue within his management team to work together and not just argue about how best to turn things around. The last of his problems is to improve director of research and design Robert Spinks personality skills that are negatively impacting the management team.
Causes
In order for Jim to solve his division’s profitability problem he needs to identify what areas within his manufacturing did not meet their operating targets.
The second problem is whether Jim should pursue requesting more funding to develop a new lighting project. The cause of this problem is due to Jim’s team inability to agree on whether Robert’s new project is worth pursuing. This is closely related to the third problem, his team not working effectively together to address a problem. The team does not have a united organizational culture, the team was divided on the proposal. The last problem to address is Spinks personality which is caused by his attitude towards his peers, they feel he is “autocratic, strong-willed and impatient” (Brown, 2011, p. 81). Jim needs to address these causes in order to improve his company’s
profitability.
Systems Affected Dim Lighting’s organizational culture issues are affecting their ability to manage their profitability issues. The management team is not able to be effective, efficient and have a positive motivational climate. The team is not effective because they couldn’t agree on one proposed change, they are not efficient because they are not working to address their issues as a team to reduce their resources. The management team is not portraying a positive attitude to push for positive change to return to profitability such as Preston’s comment, “we can’t afford to wait for long term results” (Brown, 2011, p. 81). Change affects many aspects of an organization.
Alternatives
Although new research is one alternative to improve the company’s profitability there are other options. The team should work together to determine what manufacturing areas were ineffective and inefficient. The accounting manager can identify which department had the least profitability based on production performance. In order to determine production performance the accounting manager should review the department’s output and cost for their output. Once this information is reviewed the manufacturing manager should review the accountant’s details and provide any potential causes for the effectiveness and efficiency issues. Another alternative would be for the marketing and research manager to analyze sales demographics and determine if there are other proposal options which would not require such a large capital investment. One other alternative is for the team to sit down and review the original proposal and resolve their issues to make the proposal work for the company.
Recommendations
In order for Dim to become more profitable they need to address their organization’s culture and openness to change. First I would recommend Jim West sit down with his management team and identify their organizational issues. I would ask the team to identify their view on their corporate culture. Once Jim has their input, he should share their views and ask the team to identify where they expect to be in the next year. Once he has their ideas for both key issues he can work with the team to develop the plan to fix their issues based on the team working together with everyone’s input. If Jim completes these tasks he will change his organization’s culture and their openness to change by evoking team work to address their fundamental issues.
Conclusions
Dim Lighting’s management team needs to make changes in order to address their reduced profitability issues. The team needs to change their corporate culture to be more productive and cohesive. If they work together instead of against each other their change will lead to a continuous positive organizational development process within their company.
Reference
Brown , D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development. (8th ed.). Pearson.
Left Blank
Dim Lighting is manufacturing company facing profitability issues. Dim Lighting had a less profitable year compared to prior years and their operations didn’t meet their targets. (Brown, 2011) The management team is also struggling with how to address their profitability issue. The personnel need to improve their organizational development in order to become profitable again.
Problems
Jim West the general manager has quite a few problems to address within the case study. The largest issue he needs to solve is his division’s profitability problem. Jim’s division has shown “profitability for his prior five years however last year his profitability decreased by fifteen percent” (Brown, 2011, p.81). The secondary problem which is connected to his first problem is whether to invest into a new project proposed by his research and design director in order to improve his division. (Brown, 2011) These two problems are closely tied to each other because they will affect Jim’s future in the company. There are a few smaller problems within …show more content…
Dim Lighting’s division to address as well. These include the issue within his management team to work together and not just argue about how best to turn things around. The last of his problems is to improve director of research and design Robert Spinks personality skills that are negatively impacting the management team.
Causes
In order for Jim to solve his division’s profitability problem he needs to identify what areas within his manufacturing did not meet their operating targets.
The second problem is whether Jim should pursue requesting more funding to develop a new lighting project. The cause of this problem is due to Jim’s team inability to agree on whether Robert’s new project is worth pursuing. This is closely related to the third problem, his team not working effectively together to address a problem. The team does not have a united organizational culture, the team was divided on the proposal. The last problem to address is Spinks personality which is caused by his attitude towards his peers, they feel he is “autocratic, strong-willed and impatient” (Brown, 2011, p. 81). Jim needs to address these causes in order to improve his company’s
profitability.
Systems Affected Dim Lighting’s organizational culture issues are affecting their ability to manage their profitability issues. The management team is not able to be effective, efficient and have a positive motivational climate. The team is not effective because they couldn’t agree on one proposed change, they are not efficient because they are not working to address their issues as a team to reduce their resources. The management team is not portraying a positive attitude to push for positive change to return to profitability such as Preston’s comment, “we can’t afford to wait for long term results” (Brown, 2011, p. 81). Change affects many aspects of an organization.
Alternatives
Although new research is one alternative to improve the company’s profitability there are other options. The team should work together to determine what manufacturing areas were ineffective and inefficient. The accounting manager can identify which department had the least profitability based on production performance. In order to determine production performance the accounting manager should review the department’s output and cost for their output. Once this information is reviewed the manufacturing manager should review the accountant’s details and provide any potential causes for the effectiveness and efficiency issues. Another alternative would be for the marketing and research manager to analyze sales demographics and determine if there are other proposal options which would not require such a large capital investment. One other alternative is for the team to sit down and review the original proposal and resolve their issues to make the proposal work for the company.
Recommendations
In order for Dim to become more profitable they need to address their organization’s culture and openness to change. First I would recommend Jim West sit down with his management team and identify their organizational issues. I would ask the team to identify their view on their corporate culture. Once Jim has their input, he should share their views and ask the team to identify where they expect to be in the next year. Once he has their ideas for both key issues he can work with the team to develop the plan to fix their issues based on the team working together with everyone’s input. If Jim completes these tasks he will change his organization’s culture and their openness to change by evoking team work to address their fundamental issues.
Conclusions
Dim Lighting’s management team needs to make changes in order to address their reduced profitability issues. The team needs to change their corporate culture to be more productive and cohesive. If they work together instead of against each other their change will lead to a continuous positive organizational development process within their company.
Reference
Brown , D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development. (8th ed.). Pearson.