Reference no: EM132809123
Additional information: Case Discussion
SMITHFIELD'S CUSTOM FURNITURE
It is 1901. Alicia Smithfield, daughter of the founder of Smithfield Custom Furniture, just inherited the company. She is the only surviving heir to the furniture empire her father built.
Headquartered in upstate New York, the company has grown significantly over the past 60 years. Began in a shed built next to his log cabin, Jonas Smithfield's quality furniture developed a huge following among New York City's wealthiest residents.
After being educated in the best business schools in Europe and America, Alicia has run the business side-by-side with her father for the past 15 years. During a time when there were many issues confronting the business, a tree being felled took an unexpected route and brought Jonas' life to a surprising end.
The company had just moved to a facility large enough to house its workers: 10 carpenters; 5 furniture designers; 5 wood finishers (varnish and dye experts); 10 machine operators to assist with the various equipment needed to cut the wood into various designs, polish and sand the wood; 5 mechanics to keep the vehicles (5 trucks) and boats (7) that transported wood from upstate New York and Canada to the work area in good repair; 15 lumberjacks who cut wood in nearby areas and moved it downriver by boat or over the rugged highway by truck; and 5 office personnel who assisted with filing, invoicing, drafting and responding to correspondence, handling customer inquiries, and performing other necessary office functions. More than half of these employees were hired in the past 5 years.
Alicia's Big Issues
(1) The furniture manufacturing functions are very disorganized. It is not clear how to best organize these functions. For example, the varnish and dye experts each use a different method to do all of their tasks.
(2) The production schedule is a mess. It is not clear which projects should be completed first in order to ensure products are being delivered to customers on time.
(3) The lumberjacks, both in cutting trees down and shipping them by truck or boat, differ on the best methods to perform these tasks.
(4) Tempers are flaring as a result of the disorganization. The office, clerical, and support workers are rude to each other and can't seem to act as a cohesive work unit.
(5) While the company is financially successful, as it has grown from a small family-owned business to a large and complex enterprise, the organizational structure has not kept pace. Few formal rules exist and the keeping and maintenance of records are haphazard.
(6) Employees are feeling overworked and losing satisfaction in the work they are doing. They believe their basic needs are not being addressed.
Alicia's Proposed Issue Solutions
Alicia Smithfield is familiar with the writings and contributions of each of the contributors to management theory (listed below). She has decided to hire one person to solve each of the issues listed above. But, she is unclear as to which individuals in the readings are best suited to solve each specific issue.
Fredrick W. Taylor
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
Henry Gantt
Max Weber
Henri Fayol
Mary Parker Follett
Elton Mayo
My Task
You are to answer four (4) of the above-mentioned six (6) issues. Specifically, she has asked you to recommend a consultant to solve any four of the six issues confronting her. You have been requested to explain to Alicia why you selected the four consultants you choose to solve each of the four issues you selected. Each consultant will solve one of the four issues you identified that particular consultant to address. You should explain the major contribution/idea of the consultant selected and how that contribution/idea applies to the specific issue you have recommended that person solve. You should identify the school of thought that each consultant represents.