MGMT 604 Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Scenario: Cameron Mechanical & Automation, Inc. (CMA)

Problem-Based
Learning (PBL) Scenario: Cameron Mechanical & Automation, Inc. (CMA)
Cameron Mechanical
& Automation, Inc. (CMA) is a fictional company that has been in business
and operating in the Silicon Valley since 1998. The company began as a successful
Internet-based company (dot-com) and experienced great success with the
introduction of high technology. The company also experienced decline with
other dot-coms in 2001. As a result, CMA restructured and focused on its
primary products; that is, computer components. The early changes in the
company were done quickly to downsize. Although many other companies failed
during this time, CMA managed to move forward.
CMA rebounded and
continued to manufacture and sell its components to computer manufacturers
worldwide. The company structure was divided into product divisions, with each
division focused on specific components. For the company, this structure was
meant to streamline sales and delivery worldwide.
In 2008, the economy
had an effect on company profits, but the chief executive officer (CEO), Jared
Smith, was in a position to focus on several internal strategic areas,
including structure, work design, motivation, conflict, and company culture as
a whole. To stay profitable, the company had to eliminate several management
positions in an effort to flatten the organizational chart. Many of the
responsibilities fell to the employees, and many people resisted the change.
As the economy
recovers, CMA continues to rebuild. Since 2012, the company has been divided
into a functional structure that includes four departments: Research and
development (R&D), marketing, production, and finance. Each department is
headed by a vice president who has responsibility over each of the functional
areas. The company currently sells components to computer manufacturers. As
technology continues to advance, the CMA R&D department and its vice
president, Kevin Adams, are feeling pressure to keep up with the competition.
However, because of the differentiation and separation between the departments,
the CEO is concerned that communication is hampered.
In the last employee
satisfaction survey, the CEO became aware of growing feelings of mistrust
between employees and managers. Hiring practices are also under scrutiny and criticism,
because allegations of nepotism have been leveled at the company. For these
reasons and others, employee turnover and absenteeism is on the rise in all
four divisions. Staffing problems have made it difficult to meet customer
expectations as the demand for company products grows.
Because of the current
structure and culture, the vice presidents who run each division of the company
have autonomy and are able to use different leadership styles. For example, the
vice president of marketing, Jim Stevens, uses a more democratic leadership
style, while the vice president of production, Melissa Simons, is adamant that
her autocratic or transactional style is the only way to get results. Each
leadership style has advantages, but the lack of consistency between divisions
may be causing problems for the company as a whole. Further, the CEO is
concerned that the workforce may not be as diverse as it should be, but he is
not sure how to address the issue.
The CEO has hired you
as an external organizational development consultant to help him identify
problem areas and to understand where changes should be made within the
company. Over the next few weeks, you will also be working with the CEO and
managers in all four divisions of the company to help establish these changes.
Your various responsibilities will also include talking with employees at each
level of the company to get a better understanding about underlying problems.
So far, you are seeing
inconsistencies in leadership practices in each of the departments, and you are
concerned that while the company is trying to improve its communication
protocol, the different leadership styles may be creating confusion. For
example, when you talked to one of the production employees, Sonja Diaz, she
explained that she had many ideas for helping to streamline the production
process, but feels she cannot share them because of the transactional
leadership. In the marketing department, one sales rep, Jerry McVie, felt that
he was not being challenged with his current goals and is even considering
leaving the company to join one of the competitors. Lack of communication
between the divisional leaders might also be the cause of conflict between the
departments because they operate in silos. This separation between divisions may
also be having a negative effect on middle management staffing issues.

Primary Discussion
Response is due by Wednesday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by
Sunday (11:59:59pm Central).
Primary Task Response:Within the
Discussion Board area, write 850 words that respond to the following scenario
with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future
discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to
reinforce your ideas:
Additional Information
Leadership
practices at CMA tend to be inconsistent throughout the company. Vice
presidents (VPs) of the four divisions have unique ways of leading their
employees; their styles resemble four classic leadership types: transactional,
transformational, situational, and charismatic. In addition, staff has observed
a lot of conflict between the VPs. You and Jared are meeting now to brainstorm
ideas about how to address these issues.
“Do you think that various
leadership styles cause problems in the company?” he asks. “Does this
situation contribute to our lagging position in the market?”
“I’m not sure about that, but I’ll
tell you, I have interviewed the VPs of each division and all of their managers
now,” you say. “I agree that the leadership styles are very different,
but I’m not convinced that it’s a problem.”
“Okay,” he says. “If not
that, then what?”
“During my interviews,” you
say, “I discovered that CMA doesn’t have a protocol in place for conflict
resolution. I think this is a more serious situation and another opportunity
for training and development. The VPs and managers would all benefit from this
information.”
“Hmm,” he says. “I didn’t
think about that.”
“Here’s what I propose. I can
develop a session that addresses conflict. I can work with small groups in
one-hour sessions.”
“I like that idea,” he says.
“Give me something in writing—a paper of about 850 words—that describes
what participants need to know about identifying the different types of
conflict and the steps they can take to resolve it. I want to think about this
some more.”
“No problem,” you say.
“When do you want this?”
“I’ve got another business trip next
week,” he says. “I’d like to take your paper on the plane to read.
Can you e-mail it to me by end of day Friday?”
“Yes,” you say.
“Good,”
he says. “Thanks.”