Hill Linda A
or exclusive use ESCP - Europe School of Management - United Kingdom, 2015
Harvard Business School
9-496-018
August 22, 1995
The Slade Plating Department
Ralph Porter, production manager of the Slade Company, was concerned about reports of dishonesty among some employees in the Plating Department. From reliable sources, he learned that a few of them were punching the time cards of a number of their co-workers who were leaving early.
Porter had only recently joined the Slade organization. From conversations with the previous production manager and other fellow managers, he judged that they were pleased, in general, with the overall performance of the Plating Department.
The Slade Company was a small but prosperous manufacturer of metal products designed for industrial application. Its manufacturing plant, located in central Michigan, employed 500 workers who were engaged in producing a large variety of clamps, inserts, knobs, and similar items.
Orders for these products were usually large and came in on a recurrent basis. The volume of orders fluctuated in response to business conditions in the primary industries that the company served. At the time of this case, sales volume had been high for over a year. The bases on which the Slade
Company secured orders, in rank of importance, were quality, delivery, and reasonable price.
The organization of manufacturing operations at the Slade plant is shown in Exhibit 1. The departments listed there, from left to right, are approximately in the order in which material flowed through the plant. The die making and set-up operations required the greatest degree of skill, which was supplied by highly paid, long-service craftspeople. The finishing departments, divided operationally and geographically between plating and painting, attracted less highly trained but relatively skilled workers, some of whom had been employed by the company for many years. The remaining operations required largely unskilled labor and contained
Harvard Business School
9-496-018
August 22, 1995
The Slade Plating Department
Ralph Porter, production manager of the Slade Company, was concerned about reports of dishonesty among some employees in the Plating Department. From reliable sources, he learned that a few of them were punching the time cards of a number of their co-workers who were leaving early.
Porter had only recently joined the Slade organization. From conversations with the previous production manager and other fellow managers, he judged that they were pleased, in general, with the overall performance of the Plating Department.
The Slade Company was a small but prosperous manufacturer of metal products designed for industrial application. Its manufacturing plant, located in central Michigan, employed 500 workers who were engaged in producing a large variety of clamps, inserts, knobs, and similar items.
Orders for these products were usually large and came in on a recurrent basis. The volume of orders fluctuated in response to business conditions in the primary industries that the company served. At the time of this case, sales volume had been high for over a year. The bases on which the Slade
Company secured orders, in rank of importance, were quality, delivery, and reasonable price.
The organization of manufacturing operations at the Slade plant is shown in Exhibit 1. The departments listed there, from left to right, are approximately in the order in which material flowed through the plant. The die making and set-up operations required the greatest degree of skill, which was supplied by highly paid, long-service craftspeople. The finishing departments, divided operationally and geographically between plating and painting, attracted less highly trained but relatively skilled workers, some of whom had been employed by the company for many years. The remaining operations required largely unskilled labor and contained