Rondell Data Corporation

Bhanu Prakash B11074 Sannidhya Prasad B11108 Shaurya Jeet Singh B11109 V Akshay B11119 Vineet Chauhan B11120

Structure
Background Organizational Chart and Culture Some past significant incidents Chain of Events relevant to Model 802 Process / Information Flow Functions Problems (The Way We See It)

Through the Political Lens

Required Changes

Background
1920 : Set up as Rondell Equipment Company by Bob Rondell Manufacture of electrical testing devices

1947 : Radio Broadcasting Equipment

1960s Data Transmission Equipment

Reputation as source of high quality/innovative designs Convert Problems into Solutions

1978 : Two Major Lines Broadcast Equipment Data Transmission

Organizational Chart 1978

President Bill Hunt

EVP Ralph Simon

Director, Engg. Frank Forbus

Controller Len Symmes

Factory Suptt. Dave Schwab

VP, Sales Ron Porter

Director, Research Ed Doc Reeves

Engg. Services Frank Forbus

Director Engineering Highest Turnover Job Old Timer (30 years) Doc Reeves Tom MacLeod (1 year) refused Directorship Jim Kilmann (10 months) at every stage Frank Forbus

Culture
Age/Experience valued Creativity/Genius revered Informal Relationships Reliance on personal contact Extremely loyal group of senior employees with very low turnover except Director of Engg. job

Incidents
Entry of Dave Schwab
Exposure of widespread irregularities in production and control departments Questionable side deals with suppliers Removed Purchasing, Stock Control, Final QC from production jurisdiction

Incidents
Jim Kilmann sacked
Protesting too vehemently about the other departments President Bill Hunt : Too young

Too arrogant
Telling others how to run their dept. Instead of focusing within his department Failed to show respect for old timers

Meddling in other depts business

Frank Forbus replaces Jim Kilmann as Director of Engineering

Chain of Events- 1978

Jul 3
Frank meets Hunt & Schwab Design to be forwarded to production by Jul 17 Production run out by Oct 2

Model 802 Wide Band Modulator

Jul 7

Bug found in final assembly (Interface Mismatch)

July 14

Doc Reeves proposes new filter design Modifications : 3 new cards, connectors, changes in wiring, new shielding

Jul 22

Prints forwarded to production

Jul 24

Prints sent back to Frank Heavily annotated in red More than a dozen discrepancies Insufficient checks

What the !!

God damn it, hes done it again ?..

This one cant be produced either Frank Forbus

The Scapegoat !!

December 22, 1978 Frank Forbus fired

Process / Information Flow

Sales people taking their problems directly to designers !

Research Design

Engg. Services

Production

Sales

Does it really matter ? Production directly throwing designs back at R&D !

Complaints from Sales and Production should be resolved by engg. services

Functions
Research Design Engg. Services

Production

Sales

Upper mgmt. describes ESD as being responsible for maintaining cooperation with other departments, providing services to development engineers , and freeing more valuable people in R&D from essential activities that are diversions from and beneath their main competence R&D is seen as the star of the organization

Production
Values timely schedules Lots of power !! Resist change ! Hard to get along with (Dave Schwab)

Bugs have to be found before drawings go into the shop

Its ESDs job to find those bugs Are tolerances obtainable ?? Manufacturability ??

Engg. Services
Ancillary services to R&D Liaison between engg. and other departments Lack of authority essentially powerless

People in preproduction not seen as the best qualified to solve problems

Frank an outsider at the top !! Low esteem (?) Marginalized (?) Under-utilized (?)

Frank Forbus My role in the company has never been well defined really

Research & Development

Values designs, planning, and innovation Proud of personal contacts built up with customers technical staff Engineers delighted with their personal development, continuing education and independence on the job Production engg. non existent

Doc Reeves But Im an engineer and can do more for Rondell sitting right here or working with my own people. Thats what brings results.

Sales
Values timely service to the customer Scared of telephone !!

Failed to deliver on schedule

Call from production or ESD on slipping schedule Sales was understaffed Grown further and further away from engg. No technical help ! Difficult to convince customers ! Make absurd commitments on equipment to customers Backing from Hunt !!

Executive Committee
Brainchild of Controller Len Symmes

A forum for people to blame each other ??

Ignorance from Bill Hunt A place to pass on routine information !

PROBLEMSTHE WAY WE SEE IT

1) Inept top management

Bill Hunt- likes to dabble in design Technically competent; managerially inadequate

Afraid of discussing problems- dodging at the EC

meeting Ed Doc Reeves- keeps refusing top position: Im no

administrator

2) Shifting blame
Organization has found a scapegoat in the form of Director, ESD

Authority-responsibility mismatch in ESD

Director, ESD given little time to succeed Franks tenure: Jan.- Dec. 78

Conveniently shift blame on

ESD, forgetting own follies

3) Conflicts
R&D

Production R&D gets resists special change attention from Hunt

Production

Production

Dont check Picks on drawings every little properly detail

ESD

Production

Makes Too much absurd power delivery there commitments

Sales

ESD

Pressure affecting quality

Isolated from outside world

Sales

4) Strength becomes weakness ?

Earlier
Took pride in family spirit Personal management approach Relations based on mutual respect Now Frequent disputes and conflicts We need better relationships here -Klein

5) Other issues
Flow of information communication Freezing of design Functional effective as long as products are similar Firm had starting facing issues related to new product introduction ! Product breadth has grown to two major lines

Are the clever design changes production ready ?

Manufacturing issues ? Cascading effects

THROUGH THE POLITICAL LENS

Sources of Organizational Power

Authority
Unobtrusive power

Control over resources

Control over uncertainty

ESD
Control over information

Centrality

Non Substitutability

Sources of Organizational Power

Unobtrusive power

Authority

Control over resources

Control over uncertainty

Production

Control over information

Centrality

Non Substitutability

Current balance of power

ESD Production

Required Changes
Frank needs to empower ESD to resolve more problems with design before they enter production Role of Symmes ? Get support from him towards ESD Insistence on post design freeze Scheduling and planning Open and visible to all Sticking to deadlines

Required Changes
President

EVP

Director Engineering

Control

Production

Sales

Research

Engineering Services

New Product Development Team

Required Changes

Need of manufacturing rep on a project team to take into account both

design as well as mfg. needs eg. tolerance a design engineer does not
fully understand mfg. capabilities, significance of tolerances Add a proj. mgmt. function to aid coordination, planning and monitoring Pre production process Performance related pay for hitting schedules Groom someone from within the organization for Engineering Services Head & Director of Engineering

Thank You !